I wanna tell you and this is the only way I know
by Blodigealach
Summary: Nasch planned on carrying the sins of Barian World alone, but a certain person was too stubborn to leave him alone. Hellshark. Post series. May contain spoilers.


Everything was over.

The duels were done, the Numeron Code was found, and the positive Chaos was merged back to Astral World. The souls residing in Barian World, too, had been moved to the Astral World. The ranked-up Barian—or to be precise, the Seven Barian Lords—were also given the second chance to live as human in the human world. All that left was the negative Chaos, and it would be destroyed along with the Barian World.

The dark sky was swirling and filled with thunderstorms. The ground shook violently that the crystals were falling into the Sea of Ill Intent. The only place that still stood solidly was the Throne Room. And there, sitting on the throne alone, was the only one Barian left. He leaned on the throne—_his_ throne—as he watched how the world around him crumbled slowly.

Nasch had returned to his human form. He had used the last bit of his power to send everyone back to the human world. It was still clear in his ears how Yuma, Kotori, and Astral shouted "Shark", and how the other six of Seven Lords were shouting "Nasch" with the exception of Merag calling him "brother". It was painful, but he had made the decision. After all, he's the King of Barian World, wasn't he? As the king, it's his responsibility to stay with the kingdom. A broken kingdom, but it was still his kingdom after all.

He sighed as he smiled bitterly. It's not exactly how he imagined his end would be. Although he didn't really have any image about it, he just never really expected that he would finally face death again after hundreds of years. He idly wondered if his soul would disappear along with the Barian World, or would it be reborn in the human world, or would it be ranked up to the Astral World. The last two seemed rather unlikely, though. He had cut off all the connection to both human world and Astral World, so that no one would do reckless thing such as storming through the crumbling Barian World just to bring him back. He had decided that he'd shoulder Barian World's sins alone. No one needed to be hurt because of him ever again.

The cracks were starting to reach the Throne Room. Nasch closed his eyes, accepting the end of his fate. He didn't hear the footsteps coming near him beyond the sound of thunders rumbling and crystals breaking. He also didn't see the figure that walked closer to the throne, all by his own. But as the figure came closer, he could smell the scent of leather and musk—the scent unique to one and one person only. Nasch's eyes snapped open and what welcomed him was a pair of flaming magenta.

"Hey. Took me long enough to find this place. Man, this world sure is huge to be traveled by foot, eh?" greeted IV nonchalantly as he walked closer. Nasch stood up from his throne, completely in disbelief.

"IV! Why are you still here? You're supposed to be delivered back to the human world along with others!" shouted Nasch. IV shrugged and raised one of his eyebrows, seemingly didn't even give a fuck to whatever happened around him.

"Let's just say I still have my dad's crest power and use it to sneak back here just in time? Well, the details aren't important. I'm already here, and there's no way to escape from this world, so let's just enjoy our last moment in this world," replied IV lightly. He walked to the throne and sat there as if he owned the place, making Nasch glared at him in disbelief. He could no longer measure just how stubborn IV was.

"You could have a better life if you don't return here!" scolded Nasch. IV rolled his eyes in response.

"As if I have much longer time to live on. I overused the power of dad's crest. Controlling three Numbers Cards and performing Rank Up on them shaved off my life force quite a lot. I'm a little worried about Chris and Michael too, but even back then they didn't use their Numbers too often. They'll live," explained IV. He talked about it as if it was the most normal thing to happen, but it only made Nasch felt frustrated even more. He realized that he was at fault as well, since he was the reason why IV ranked up his Numbers.

"But if you died in human world, your soul can Rank Up to the Astral World, and you'll live longer there. In here… if you die here now, the only place waiting for you is the endless abyss—nothingness. You'll just disappear completely," he said again, and this time IV smirked. Nasch was completely baffled, while IV looked as if what Nasch just said was a great thing.

"That's a sweet deal, honestly. I'd take it," said IV as he leaned back to the throne. Nasch balled his fist, completely lost at just how IV's mind worked.

"You'll have a better life if you leave me behind!" shouted Nasch. This time, IV didn't shrug or roll his eyes or smirk or anything. His expression turned serious, and he stood up from the throne to stand right in front of Nasch. He stared directly into the pair of deep blue, making Nasch felt overwhelmed by his presence.

Then, after some seconds that felt like eternity, IV pulled Nasch into his arms. His arms wrapped around Nasch's body loosely, giving him the warmth he never realized he missed.

"Life without you doesn't worth living. If you want to disappear, fine. Just take me with you. I'm not leaving you. Not again. Not anymore," whispered IV. The words melted in Nasch's ears, filling his empty heart. And before he realized it, tears were flooding from his eyes. IV let him cried against his chest, pouring the burden he had been carrying alone. Once Nasch calmed down, IV released him and wiped the remaining tears with his sleeves.

"Gross," he teased as he chuckled at the purple haired boy. Nasch pouted and stuck out his tongue.

"Not as gross as you everyday," he replied, making IV laughed loudly. Nasch couldn't help but smile at just how gross both of them were.

IV led him back to the throne. The taller man sat first, and Nasch took the chance to sit on IV's lap. IV frowned at the gesture, but he canceled all the protest he was about to say when Nasch snuggled to the crook of his neck.

"This is our very last moment together. I don't want to disappear regretting the things I haven't done yet," murmured Nasch. IV didn't have to look to know how Nasch was blushing furiously upon the words. IV chuckled in response.

"Me neither."


End file.
